No Compromises
by AmeliaPonders
Summary: "I love you, Rose," the Doctor said aloud, and then he held his breath and activated the dimension cannon. And with that, he left Pete's World to begin the most important journey of his life. The journey to save Rose Tyler.
1. Chapter 1

**No Compromises: Chapter 1**

_Pete's World, Present Day _

_5:30 PM_

"Don't be ridiculous," Rose said sternly. "Whatever it is, I'm going with you."

"No. You're. Not." He couldn't let her win this one. Usually, she got whatever she wanted, but this time there could be no compromise.

"Doctor, I thought we've agreed that you don't need to protect me all the time, and I thought we agreed it a long time ago. I'm a top agent at Torchwood. I can handle any time, any place, any aliens. And you said you it was important! I should help!"

The Doctor sighed. It wasn't that he didn't think she could "handle" this journey. But he couldn't tell her that, either. So he just stood there, in their kitchen, staring at her dumbly, mustering all of his strength to not just run out, knowing it would infuriate Rose.

"Doctor, I'm not a little girl anymore. We're _married_ for god's sake. Equals, yeah? So tell me why you feel the need to exclude me from this trip of yours on our TARDIS when she's only just gotten to the point where we can actually use her."

"It's just something I have to take care of on my own." The Doctor felt the anger that always hid deep inside him slowly prickling beneath the surface. He couldn't engage in this anymore for the sake of Rose's feelings. She was asking questions he couldn't answer right now, and he had no time to be arguing.

Rose noticed the way his jaw was set, the way his eyes had darkened but avoided her gaze. She rarely saw flashes of the "old" Doctor in her half-human husband these days, but he had all the same memories and sometimes that angst and pain got the better of him. She was sympathetic, but that wasn't an excuse for why he was being so evasive and short with her. "At least tell me where you're going. How long you'll be gone."

The more she badgered him, the less he could control himself. The Doctor snapped his head up and shouted through gritted teeth, "Why can't you just trust me?!"

Rose jumped, startled. He so rarely lost his temper with her in this way. Usually, he just brooded when something bothered him, until she dragged it out of him and they worked it out. She felt tears start to invade her eyes and blinked them back. She would not start crying like a little child because someone yelled at her. That was idiotic and also a weakness she didn't particularly want to show him at the moment. Her own anger rising, she shouted back. "I DO trust you, and you know that. But for you to just take off without telling me where you're going or why or when you'll be back is not fair and you know it."

"Don't talk to me about fair. If things were fair I wouldn't have had to make my best friend forget me. I wouldn't have lost you for two years. I wouldn't be stuck as a stupid _human_!" The last word was spoken with such disdain that the Doctor practically recoiled as he said it. An instant later, though, his whole body was flooded with regret. He'd taken it too far, had said too much.

Rose didn't bother stopping the tears this time. "Well. Nice to know what you really think. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go deal with my stupid human emotions," she said softly as she tread out of the room, every step heavy with sadness. The Doctor cringed at the sound of their bedroom door slamming. He had really hurt her, something he never meant to do – something he never, ever means to do. He longed to go to her, to tell her everything, to apologize and beg her to understand and not worry, but he couldn't. Besides, the current tension between them meant that she'd avoid asking him any more questions for awhile and that would keep her safer. He felt a tiny bit of reassurance at that, but couldn't think about this fight anymore. They'd been arguing for ten full minutes and time was of the essence; he had to get to the TARDIS now.

He scrawled a note on a piece of paper, left it on the kitchen table, and hurried out the back door to the garden where the TARDIS waited. He set to work at the console, putting in coordinates. From the bedroom, Rose heard the telltale grinding whir of the TARDIS taking off and cried harder.

The Doctor arrived at his first stop mere moments later. He'd only gone to the other end of London, to the woods not far from the Tyler Estate. His final destination wasn't somewhere he'd need the TARDIS to travel to, but he couldn't risk Rose finding out where he was going, so he wanted to leave the impression that he could be anywhere in the universe.

Little did she know, he wasn't going anywhere in _this_ universe.

About an hour of walking and tube rides later, the Doctor was at Torchwood, prepping a dimension cannon to take him to his former universe – _their_ former universe.

"I love you, Rose," he said aloud, and then he held his breath and activated the device. And with that, the most important journey of the Doctor's life began.

The journey to save Rose Tyler.


	2. Chapter 2

**No Compromises: Chapter 2**

_South London, 1988_

Jackie Tyler sighed. She was really beginning to regret this shopping trip and agreeing to the upcoming outing that spurned it. Bev had told her that she was going to have to leave the house sometime, and just because she was grieving didn't mean it wasn't okay to have some fun now and then. "Rose needs a fun mum," Bev had said gently, and that had sealed the deal. They were going dancing. She'd even convinced Jackie to get a new outfit, "so that you can feel special." It didn't feel special. It just felt pointless, like most of her life these days. But Bev had booked and paid for the babysitter and even given Jackie the money for the new clothes, so now Jackie was at Henrik's, looking through rack after rack and finding nothing that interested her. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. Really, she just wanted to go home, hold Rose, drink some tea, and miss Pete. But she'd been doing an awful lot of that in the ten months since he'd died, and Jackie knew that Bev was right – she couldn't just mope around forever. Rose deserved better.

So far, Jackie's little daughter stayed faithfully by her mother, holding one hand and running the chubby fingers of the other across the ends of the garments she could reach, watching them sway. But they'd been at the store a while now, and Rose was starting to get antsy. She let go of Jackie's hands and started toddling around the large, round rack, making little noises. "Rose, darling, stay by me," Jackie warned as she sorted through a number of sequined dresses. Finally, she happened upon one that was a bright magenta, a color she knew her daughter loved. She took it off the rack and bent down to show it to Rose. She came face to face with the hem of a gown. Her toddler was nowhere in sight.

Jackie was nothing if not dramatic, but at this moment, she was pure steel. Panic was no good; she needed to get her baby and get her now. The little girl was always so curious, she surely just wandered farther than Jackie thought she could have in a few seconds. Jackie tried desperately to ignore the sick feeling screaming inside her, "_You're wrong. She's __gone_."

"Rose! Rose, come to Mummy!" She spoke loudly, but in a friendly voice so that Rose wouldn't think she was in trouble and hide. Sometimes that child was too clever for her own good.

Jackie knelt down to get a toddler's-eye-view and scanned the vast department store floor for Rose. All she saw were grown up legs and racks of clothing. "Rose!" It was getting harder not to panic. It suddenly seemed like there were ten million people around and no one at all. And the only person who mattered – this one tiny, precious girl who was all Jackie had left in this world – was absolutely nowhere.

Jackie screamed her child's name again as tears spilled over her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**No Compromises: Chapter 3**

_Pete's World, Present Day _

_5:15 PM_

The Doctor was relieved to get home. It had been a long day at Torchwood, especially since Pete had insisted he fill out his expense reports. Though he had been in this world, this domesticity, for a few years now, he still marveled at the fact that he was just another bloke who was annoyed by expense reports and tired after work. He actually enjoyed this fact…especially since he and his wife had a TARDIS that could (almost) take them anywhere in time and space so he never felt too trapped.

Most of the time, anyway.

No matter what, there was a part of him that would never fully adapt to being part human. This part of him wasn't just Time Lord, but the certain _kind_ of Time Lord he once was; a wild, untamable master of the universe who, with fire in his eyes, stole a time machine and never looked back. Over the years, this part of him had faded quite a bit, and now that he was half human, it was just a fraction of his being. However small, though, it was something that helped make him who he was, and it was something that he needed. Odd as it sounded, he felt this feral part of him actually made him better for Rose; it was the part that would protect her at any cost, and the part that would never walk away from a noble fight.

He opened the door to the sweet, simple house he shared with his wife. She'd probably be home any minute, and he was eager to see her, but for now, he went over to their window seat (his favorite feature of this whole place), leaned against the wall, and looked out onto the yard, grateful for the silence. Silence, he was starting to finally accept, is not only something that arrives in devastation's wake. Sometimes, it actually means peace. Trusting peace, however, was something he was still working on. He smiled as he watched a bunny totter across the yard and congratulated himself on enjoying the simple things.

And then came the loudest noise he'd ever heard. It was accompanied by pain in his head that rivaled the pain of all of his regenerations combined.

The Doctor cried out, desperately grasping at his temples. The sound was like an alarm – sharp, quick high-pitched blasts. Just as quickly as the sound hit, it was replaced by vivid images that were chaotic and, at first, didn't make sense. Brightly colored clothing, shouts of "help me!" a little girl curled up under a rack of clothing, asleep, using the fluffy fake flowers on bottom of a bright orange gown as a pillow. The Doctor thought the images were vaguely familiar, but the head-splitting pain made it difficult to focus.

"WE"

The word was even louder than the alarm sounds, piercing through the Doctor's head, making the pain even worse.

"WE HAVE" Images of police, a woman crying… a flash of the girl on the orange dress again.

"WE HAVE HER!" A spiny, clawed hand snatched the sleeping child, and the Doctor's mind was released. He fell back against the window, breathing heavily, wincing at residual pain.

Then he remembered why the images were so familiar, and his eyes went wide with terror.

It was about a week ago. Jackie was over; when she called to ask if they were home, she was squealing that she'd found something she just had to show Rose. "It must have been tucked behind one of the other pictures in my wallet," She said, showing Rose an old, tiny photograph. "It fell out earlier and I noticed and just _had_ to show you! This is the oldest picture I have of us in this barmy parallel universe!"

Rose took the picture and immediately laughed, loud and long. The Doctor was in their office, doing one of his favorite relaxation activities: furiously editing Wikipedia entries to make them more accurate and reporting other editors who disagreed. When he heard Rose's laughter, he went out to the living room to see what was so funny (and to see that look she got when she laughed – so unapologetically joyful and something he would never tire of).

"Doctor! Doctor, look at this!" Rose trotted over to him with the picture. It was of Jackie and Rose at a Christmas party, all dressed up. Rose was about two, blonde hair practically shining like the puffy green dress she wore. Jackie was holding her, smiling proudly…and wearing the ugliest orange dress the Doctor had ever seen, complete with giant fabric flowers around the entire bottom of the gown. "Oh, Mum," Rose said, "that 'lucky dress' of yours was so unfortunate looking."

"Oh, I know," Jackie laughed. "But it kept you safe when I'd thought I'd lost you, and so I was determined to wear it at least a few times."

The Doctor gave Rose a quizzical glance. She told him the story of her mother's shopping trip, when Rose had wandered off and was finally found two hours later, completely hidden by a rack of clothes, sound asleep on the orange dress.

The Doctor now recognized the images that had assaulted his mind moments earlier. They were of young Rose, only this time, she wasn't found safely. She was stolen. But who would take her from another time? Another _universe_? He focused on the image of the eerie, monstrous hand that snatched the toddler away. It looked familiar, but then again, he'd faced so many monsters with spiky, spindly claws that it didn't really make them stand out. What did make them stand out, however, was their _modus operandi_. There was a species whose almost exclusive source of income and power was kidnapping ransom: the Lamagai. They were from the same star system as the Slitheen, but while the Slitheen robbed planets of their resources, the Lamagai robbed families of their children. Theirs might be a smaller scale operation, but it was every bit as devastating.

The Doctor realized if they could communicate with him telepathically, then he could probably reach the Lamagai the same way. Besides, they hadn't yet asked for a specific ransom and he wasn't going to wait around for them to do so. He focused all of his energy and, trying not to project the desperation he was feeling, mentally asked, "_What do you want in exchange for her safe return?"_

The response was swift, painful, and direct.

"YOU."

"_You'll get what you want_," he sent back. "_And when you do, you'll realize just how grave a mistake you've made._"

The Doctor stood up, fiery determination burning through him. He walked to the kitchen to get some water. Using the dimension cannon wreaks havoc on the body and he couldn't risk being weakened further by something as stupid as dehydration. He filled a glass, chugged it down, and nearly broke it as he slammed it down on the table.

A second later, Rose walked through the front door. "Hi, Doctor!" she said brightly as she hung up her coat and headed over to him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

The Doctor looked at his wife, the one person in the universe he really, truly trusted. The one person he could confide in about anything.

Anything but this.

He tried to get it over with as quickly as possible. "I need to take the TARDIS somewhere. It's important that I go right now, and you can't come with me."

Something about his steely tone made Rose snap. She'd had enough headaches at work today and didn't have time for his games. Angry, she backed away from him, crossed her arms, and planted her feet. Rose Tyler wouldn't be left behind without a fight.


	4. Chapter 4

**No Compromises: Chapter 4**

_South London, 1988_

The Doctor landed on a pile of garbage, his shoulder violently crashing against an alley wall and bouncing him back towards the ground on his opposite side. His head scraped the pavement and a second later, he vomited. Ignoring how awful he felt, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, stumbled to his feet, and sprinted out of the alley.

He took in the loud, smelly, vibrant scene before him and breathed a sigh of relief. It was London. But now the question was, was it the _right_ London? The right universe? The right year?

Boxy cars whizzed by. Women with feathered haircuts and men in bright, cheesy, busily-patterned jumpers walked the busy sidewalks. So far, so good. A look further down the street revealed a bank clock displaying the date and time, and beyond it, Henrik's Department Store with some police cars outside. Jackpot.

The Doctor took off at a run towards the store, nearly getting hit by two taxis, when he was slammed with horrible head pain again. It was followed by the image of a dingy warehouse and an address a few blocks away. When he got the image of young Rose sleeping on a dusty, dark cement floor, he practically bowled over a woman and a pram as he turned on his heel and sprinted down another alleyway.

The warehouse was pitch black inside. The Doctor crept along a wall and stayed as quiet as possible. He knew it was incredibly unlikely that he'd be able to find and sneak out with the toddler, and even if he could do so, he'd still have to eliminate the Lagamai threat. But this was Rose. If there was any way he could avoid having her near a potentially dangerous confrontation with hostile creatures, he was damn well going to try it.

He rounded a corner and spotted a door. He instantly knew she was behind it. They had bonded their minds on their wedding night and now each could feel the very essence of the other when they were close by; they were, to use the human cliché, soulmates. The Doctor used the sonic on the heavy metal door and pulled it open as quietly as possible. There, curled in the corner and impossibly tiny, was little Rose. He felt a wave of love and protectiveness wash over him, in awe that this vulnerable sleeping child was the very same person that someday would grow into his strong, fearless wife. It was his job now to make sure she even _got_ to grow up. The Doctor shuddered at the thought and took a deep breath, trying to tamp down the rage boiling up again about what was happening.

Rose stirred a bit but was clearly still deep asleep. The Doctor realized it was likely they had given her some kind of soporific and this fact ignited the fury again. He knew the Lagamai wouldn't hurt her – at least not yet – but the fact that they had even given her something to make her sleep felt incredibly invasive.

He quickly and quietly approached Rose and scooped her up. She didn't wake, but made a little squeaking noise and cuddled into him, a child seeking comfort. He held her to him protectively and began to move towards the door of the dank room. Just as he was about to cross the threshold, it slammed. He tried to sonic it but this time his screwdriver didn't work. He'd only gotten in before because the Lagamai _let_ him. That's why they'd shown him where she was in the first place.

"YOU DIDN'T REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY, DID YOU?" came the message screamed into his head.

The loud crash of the metal door had finally stirred Rose, who looked up at the Doctor with confused, frightened eyes and promptly began to cry. "Shhh," he cooed, but he couldn't quite keep his frantic feelings out of his voice. The little girl started to fidget and kick, trying to get away from the nervous stranger holding her. The Doctor looked towards the door, half expecting a jagged-toothed four-legged leathery beast to come charging through. The Lagamai didn't like to waste much time when it came to asking for ransom. But the presence in his mind felt further away now, and the Doctor sensed that no one would be coming to the dank cell just yet. Rose continued to kick and scream, and the Doctor continued his futile attempts to soothe her. "It's okay, Rose. It's okay," he murmured.

"No!" Rose wailed, "Mummy! Want Mummy!" Her kick got him in the ribs this time and he winced.

"I know you want your mummy," the Doctor said as he set her on the floor and sat down across from her. "But…Mummy is busy right now so…she sent me to play with you! I'm her friend, the Doctor! Hello!" He smiled at the toddler, trying to put her at ease, but Rose was too busy snuffling while simultaneously taking in her surroundings to pay attention to him. Finally, she stopped crying and turned to the Doctor.

"Where is Mummy?" she persisted. "I don't like this place! I want to go home and see Mummy! Stupid Doctor!"

The Doctor was surprised to hear the child speak in full, fairly long sentences. By his calculations, she was just under eighteen months old; her speech was really quite advanced for her age. He smirked at her calling him "stupid" with a fire in her eyes she still had more than twenty-five years later. "Why is it dark and yucky?" she demanded.

_Stubborn as anything and too clever for her own good. That's my Rose, all right. _

"That is a bit silly, isn't it? I think the lights must be broken, but I bet someone's working on fixing them right now," he told her. It felt strange lying to Rose, even in this form, but obviously he had to keep her calm and safe and the truth was something she couldn't and shouldn't understand. So for now, it was all about distraction. "Rose, would you like to play a game while we wait for the lights to get fixed?"

Rose regarded the Doctor, giving him a long stare that coming from a young toddler was equal parts ridiculous and slightly creepy. After a moment, she turned her body to face him. "Pat-a-cake?"

"Good choice, Rose Tyler! I love a good game of pat-a-cake!" They began the rhyme and hand game and Rose finally began to smile. The Doctor smiled, too, first because Rose's smile made him happy (Rose's smile always made him happy) and second because this moment was just so absurd. _So, what did you do today, Doctor? Oh, you know, just took a trip to the Eighties and played pat-a-cake in a prison with a toddler who, in another dimension, is twenty-six years older and my wife._

But the silly thought also reminded him of the harsh reality he was facing. Despite his Rose being in Pete's World, the toddler who became that woman grew up in _this_ world. The child in front of him was no alternate Rose, it was the same person, and this was never supposed to happen to her. The longer they both were here and in this situation with the Lagamai, the more the adult Rose was at risk. As he repeated the rhythms and rhyme of pat-a-cake by rote, the Doctor began to once again think about why the Lagamai were doing this, and doing it in this way. "YOU," they had said when he asked what they wanted for ransom, and it wasn't so crazy to think that a species was after Time Lord energy or technology. He had encountered several such species before. He shuddered as he remembered his and Martha's harrowing encounter with the Family and how he'd had to turn himself human and forget who he was just to save them.

Human. The word registered something in the Doctor's head and he sprang up on his feet. _He was part human._ Why did the Lagamai drag _this_ version of him to a parallel world, ripping a hole in the fabric of reality, when there was a full Time Lord version of him (actually, many full Time Lord versions of him) present in this universe? Why go through all that trouble?

"Doc-TOR!" Rose whined, annoyed that he had stopped the game.

"Shhh, Rose, I'm thinking," he responded curtly. Luckily, Rose didn't cry, and just began running her fingers over the stone on the wall to entertain herself. It was as though she sensed this was important, even if she was too young to be aware of intuition.

The Doctor ran through everything he knew about the Lagamai again. They were opportunistic, power-hungry kidnappers and conquerors from the planet Selian in the Andromeda Galaxy. They liked to take the path of least resistance to get what they wanted quickly and easily. That's why they liked to kidnap – it wasn't too hard to steal a member of a prominent family or ruler, especially if they were a child, and their desperate loved ones usually paid up quickly. When the Lagamai amassed enough capital – galactic credits, technology, energy, or other resources – they'd find a planet with a small, easy-to-extinguish population and take it over. The Lagamai had been building a multi-planet empire across galaxies this way for the last ten thousand years. Still didn't explain why they wanted this specific version of him.

The Doctor sighed, frustrated. If he couldn't figure out why the Lagamai had taken him, then he couldn't figure out how best to beat them and return Rose to safety. He tried to think of what his wife, expert Torchwood operative that she was, would do in this situation. Spy? Infiltrate their headquarters?

"Why don't you just ask them, you git?" It was grown-up Rose's voice, clear as day. He turned towards it, but no one was on that side of the room. He had just imagined it. The Doctor's heart sank a bit, but then he realized, imagined or not, his wife had just told him exactly what he should do.

"_Lagamai,"_ he sent telepathically, _"Why do you want me? There must be a dozen of me running around this universe. Why not take one of them?"_

"YOU HAVE TIME LORD ENERGY. YOU HAVE WHAT WE WANT."

"_So do they. More of it, in fact."_

"YOU ARE EASIER TO DEFEAT."

The Doctor seethed as he broke the telepathic connection. He was more determined than ever to not only get Rose out of this safely, but to make the Lagamai pay for what they did. Still, every minute that went by put future Rose in more danger and he had yet to form a plan. Would his full Time Lord self have figured out a solution already? And what if he, as a part-human who can't regenerate, fought the beasts, only to die before Rose was safe?

_Easier to defeat_. A little part of him couldn't help but wonder if the Lagamai were right.


	5. Chapter 5

**No Compromises: Chapter 5**

_Pete's World, Present Day_

_7:00 PM_

Rose turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open slowly. "Hello?!" she called to the large, empty foyer, "Mum? Are you home?"

Jackie appeared on the landing wearing a tracksuit, her hair a sweaty mess. "Rose? I thought you two weren't coming over until tomorrow! It's Isabel's day off, the house is a mess, I was in the middle of my workout, and here you are just bargin' on in on the wrong day. You and that husband of yours never change, do you?"

"Mum." Rose's voice was frailer than she wanted it to be and Jackie, having finished her rant, finally got a real look at her daughter. She ran down the stairs.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. What's wrong, then?" Jackie rubbed Rose's arm and looked into her eyes, trying to get a read on her daughter's emotions. Rose looked away, not wanting to succumb to her tears just yet. It didn't stop the subtle shake of her hands, however. Jackie took them in her own. "Rose," she said softly, "where is the Doctor?"

Her mother's intuition was all it took to make Rose fall apart. She buried her face Jackie's shoulder and wept hard for about a minute before pulling away. "Damn it," she said as she wiped her tears. "I told myself I wasn't going to do that."

"It's all right to let go every now and then, love," Jackie said. "You're not at bloody Torchwood right now, and I don't care how old you are, sometimes everyone needs a good cry and a hug from Mum. Now, what did that daft alien do that's got you so upset?"

"Well," Rose began as she let out a shuddery breath, getting herself fully in control again. "He yelled at me and refused to tell me where he was going or let me come along, but that's not actually the problem. Something is _wrong_, Mum, he's in trouble. Maybe we're all in trouble. Whatever's going on, it's big; I can sense it. But I can't bloody well help if I don't know what it is, can I?" She was properly angry now.

Jackie groaned. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't mind him bein' this way with you sometimes, Rose. I know, I know, you're strong and brave and you've saved the world a bunch of times – and don't think I'm not grateful for that, by the way – but sweetheart, I lost you once. He lost you, too. Can you blame him for wantin' to prevent that from happenin' again? Happily ever after doesn't actually mean a fairy tale, darling. You have to work at it and protect each other and that's all he's tryin' to do."

Rose sighed. "Yeah, well, I'm not a little kid. I can take care of myself," she muttered to herself. She knew there was no changing her mother's mind, and she was too upset and lightheaded to argue. She also didn't want to scare Jackie with just how grave this situation might be. When Rose said she could sense something was wrong, she truly meant it; she and the Doctor shared a telepathic bond now that they were married. And while there would be no opening their direct link right now since the Doctor didn't even want her to know where he was, there was still the quiet presence in the back of her mind. It was always there, like a sixth sense, giving her insight into what he was feeling. This presence was usually very subtle and Rose would often forget it was even there. With particularly strong emotions, though, the feeling could be fairly prominent, like it was right now. Her current dread wasn't just her own. It was his, too. And the Doctor rarely dreaded anything. Maybe that's why she had been feeling slightly sick this whole time.

"I'm gonna take a walk. Clear my head," Rose mumbled as she walked out the door.

"But you just got here! At least have a cup of tea!" Jackie shouted after her, but it was too late. Rose was headed down the lawn towards the woods at its edge, trying to ignore the slight dizziness she felt. Going to these woods always calmed her because they were the Tylers' private property, a place where she could spend time alone and undisturbed. Before the Doctor came back to her, Rose would sit by the small stream there for hours, secretly working on the dimension cannon she'd smuggled out of the office after they'd made her go home for the day.

_The dimension cannon._

The thought stirred something in her. The dread grew stronger. So did the dizziness. Rose worked her way along the stream to the clearing where she used to tinker with the cannon…and where she still kept one that nobody else knew existed.

She had no plans to use the secret dimension cannon when she'd hidden it, but she didn't tell the Doctor about it because no matter how much she would assure him otherwise, she knew a part of him would still be convinced that she would use it to leave him for his former, full-Time Lord self. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was just an insecurity (and resentment and even mourning) that a little part of him would probably hang onto forever. Rose didn't want to stir that up. Her world, her life with him (_this_ him) and her family, were all she ever wanted to protect, and that's the only reason she even had this device. If there were some other weird "stars going out" kind of emergency that threatened Pete's World and saving the ones she loved meant she had to risk her life by hurling herself into a parallel world, she was going to do it.

And somehow, she knew that was exactly what she needed to do now.

Rose was almost to the spot where she kept the cannon buried when she fell to her knees, a wave of nausea overtaking her. What was happening? Why was she so sick all of a sudden? Any ill effects from the dimension cannon only came about if you actually used the thing to universe hop. It didn't make any sense for her to feel this way yet. It was as if a part of her was circling a drain – swirling and fading all at once.

Rose fought the feeling, her survival instincts kicking in with a shot of adrenaline through her system. She gained enough strength to get to the cannon and desperately dug through the stale smelling earth until she saw the bright yellow of the device. She pulled it out and brushed off the dirt, her hands trembling. Something was wrong with her; maybe she wasn't thinking properly. It was most likely that using the dimension cannon would cause more harm than good but she couldn't ignore the gut feeling that her Doctor was in trouble and this was the only way to save him.

It was then that she realized her insistence on going back to the parallel world wasn't a "gut" feeling at all. Someone (or in this case, something) was _telling_ her. She looked up to confirm what she already knew as she spotted the TARDIS just a few feet ahead. She tried to thank the time ship through their own mental link, but was too weak to communicate any further. The TARDIS sent back a wave of worry and concern.

Rose ignored it. She didn't have the time or energy to "argue" with the TARDIS nor to wonder why her Doctor had crossed back to their old universe. She now knew he was there and that he was in trouble, and getting to him was all that mattered. If only she didn't feel so dizzy, so weak, she could concentrate and get to him faster. She swallowed hard, trying desperately to push past the disorientation. She took the dimension cannon with her as she stumbled toward the TARDIS. Surely there had to be something in the med bay that could set her right, and then she could be on her way to help the Doctor. Just a few more steps…

The glowing words "POLICE BOX" were the last thing she saw before passing out.


	6. Chapter 6

**No Compromises: Chapter 6**

_South London, 1988_

Little Rose was sobbing again. It had been quite a long time since the Doctor was a parent, but the instincts and experience weren't something he could ever lose. Learning to tune out the noise of an upset toddler's shrieks, however, was an entirely different matter. He heart broke for the frightened child, but he was getting a headache almost as bad as the ones the Lagamai had given him. And to make matters worse, he was still getting those, too, as the Lagamai refused to communicate with him any way besides telepathically because they knew how much it hurt him. The physical pain enraged the Doctor further, making him all the more determined to find a way out of this for him and young Rose. It also made it much harder to concentrate on how to do that.

"DOCTOR!"

The Lagamai's messages sliced through the Doctor's brain like a meat cleaver on a tender steak.

"DOCTOR, YOU MUST PAY THE RANSOM."

The Doctor grabbed Rose and cradled her to him protectively. He took a deep breath to try to soothe Rose and the pain in his head. "_If you think I'm just going to let you take me without getting her to safety first, you're even less intelligent than I thought."_

"YOU DARE TO INSULT US?!"

The Doctor winced. The Lagamai's anger took the pain to new levels. At least Rose had quieted. The Doctor felt a tiny hand on his face, stroking his cheek gently. He looked at Rose and found a familiar caring kindness in the eyes staring back at him. It actually made him feel better and once again he was in awe of Rose. Her empathy was so much a part of who she was as an adult, and so much good had been put into the universe because of it. Here she was, not even two years old, and she already knew just what to do to ease his pain. He held back tears as he looked back at Rose's cherubic face. "Thank you, my darling," he whispered, before using his full, powerful voice to address the Lagamai out loud rather than just telepathically.

"Lagamai! We both know that to get what you want, I have to give it to you. You've obviously figured out that my body might not have the same abilities as the versions of me running around in this universe, but my body isn't what you want, is it? You want what's in my mind. You want the secrets of the Time Lords and you think they'll be easier to get from me. After all, I'm part human. More sentimental. Weaker. Willing to compromise. Except I think you're not so sure about that. After all, you were too afraid to try to take my mind without this little scheme to get me to hand over knowledge willingly. And you were right to be afraid. Because if you hurt this child in any way, if she gets so much as a scratch, you will get nothing, and you will be destroyed. So you have a choice: let me get her home safely and I will lower my mental defenses, and you can learn all about the Time Lord technology that could make you the most powerful race in the universe. Or, hurt her and I will end you."

There was a long moment of silence. Maybe his threat worked. The Doctor dared to hope a little more when he heard heavy footsteps and the click-clack of long talons getting closer and closer to the cell. Finally, the heavy metal door opened, revealing a grotesque creature about eight feet tall. Its leathery skin was a speckled greenish brown. It was lanky but muscular, the two-inch talons on its long fingers and the evil emanating from its black eyes sending the clear message that it was a predator not to be trifled with.

The Lagamai bared its teeth, a million tiny daggers in a deceptively small mouth. Little Rose's eyes widened in horror but she stayed silent. The Doctor looked the creature directly in the eye as he clutched the girl even tighter. No matter what, he would protect her. The Lagamai let out a low, menacing growl before glaring back at the Doctor and screaming into his mind.

"WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE TERMS OF RANSOM. WE WILL NOW TAKE WHAT WE DEMAND." The Lagamai then sent a horrible, constant shriek to him.

The Doctor staggered backwards at the incredible pain of the Lagamai's close-range telepathic onslaught. He put Rose on the ground and shielded her with his body, but he wasn't steady. He felt himself being dragged backwards out of the cell and was too weak to break free. He heard the door slam shut and felt the pierce of a talon in his shoulder before succumbing to the pain and losing consciousness.

In the cell, little Rose began to cry again.


End file.
